Though the OKC Thunder may currently be focusing on the upcoming 2025 NBA Playoffs, as they have their sights set on winning their first championship since 1976, Sam Presti and company are likely already shifting focus toward the team's offseason agenda.
From shelling out contract extensions to stars like Shai Gilgeious-Alexander while abiding by the association's new salary cap conditions to creating room on the roster to add notable new talents, Oklahoma City's front office is slated to have their work cut out for them during these upcoming summer months.
The first event scheduled to come about on the calendar is June's NBA Draft, where the Thunder are slated to have multiple selections due to Presti's masterful wheeling and dealing ways over the years.
Considering the way the league's final standings have shaken out, it seems OKC will likely end up with just two picks during the festivities, none of which should be seen as having a significant chance of falling into the lottery.
However, this is not to say that the organization still can't come away with quality ballers who will help aide in what is hoped to be a repeat championship run during the 2025-26 campaign.
Recently, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report released his latest mock, where the Thunder are seen snatching up a couple of intriguing players during the 2025 draft. Today, we at TI break down his hypothetical order of operation and determine how well the franchise would faire.
Details of 2025 Thunder Mock Draft
Though many Thunder fans were holding out hope throughout the season that the top-six protected draft rights of Philadelphia would convey and, in turn, grant OKC the possession of a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, with how the Sixers' year unfolded and the fact that they finished with the fifth-worst record, the odds of seeing such a happening are quite slim.
Because of this, Wasserman played it safe with his mock and has Presti on the clock just twice -- once at 24 overall via pick-swap with the LA Clippers and then again at 44 overall.
The way in which he currenty predicts things will shake out reads as follows:
- No. 24) Noah Penda (Le Mans, SF/PF)
- No. 44) Alex Karaban (Connecticut, SF)
To Wasserman, the objective for Oklahoma City seems to be geared around bolstering their forward depth, particularly at the three and four spots.
Though they may already have high-end contributors such as Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Isaiah Hartenstein down in the frontcourt, the former, though regularly playing power forward, sports more of a traditional wing build, while the latter two are more comfortable operating at the five.
Despite the incredible depth, Mark Daigneault's rotation sorely lacks any natural fours within his arsenal. With this proposed draft turnout, the Thunder would end up adding two cost-efficient and multi-faceted talents who can slot in at this area of the rotation in Noah Penda and Alex Karaban.
Grade the Mock Draft
As noted, with Wasserman's current plan, the Thunder would add two natural power forward to their rotation that, at least at the moment, currently lacks any such player.
In the case of Noah Penda (6-foot-8, 225 pounds), they'd be bringing on a highly versatile, 20-year-old Euro-star who has the tools to be an ace defender (1.8 stocks per game this season in 26.0 minutes a night) as well as an athletic rim-cutter and secondary ball-handler on the offensive side of the ball in the NBA.
As for Alex Karaban (6-foot-8, 225 pounds), while he may not have the innate Swiss Army talents that the French native does, his floor appears to be higher and, frankly, more stable.
Throughout his three-year tenure at the collegiate level, the 22-year-old played a crucial role in two National Championship runs with the UConn Huskies, providing reliable long-range shooting (shot 37.5 percent clip for his career on 5.2 attempts per game) both in spot sets and when in motion, and playing strong defense.
Though there are certainly concerns attached to both prospects, as Penda is currently viewed as an inconsistent shooter with splits of .436/.303/.759 while Karaban has serious question marks regarding his athleticism, at this stage in the draft pickings will undoubtedly be slim.
Fortunately for a team like the Thunder, they can afford to take risks on project players such as these, making this hypothetical turnout far from risky and, should they be able to have their key skill sets transfer over to the NBA, potentially quite rewarding.
Grade: B-